The recent adjustment by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has seen an increase of 1.9 per cent in the exchange rate used for calculating Customs duties at the country’s seaports, now set at N1.624.732 per US dollar amidst the ongoing Naira crisis.
Information available on the official website of the Nigeria Customs Service reveals that this rate was revised from N1,593.888 to N1,624.732 per USD on Tuesday. Consequently, importers who initiated Form M procedures on that day will face higher costs in clearing their goods due to the benchmarking of import duties against the dollar.
Port users have expressed concerns about the policy of utilizing the exchange rate specified on Form M for import duty payments, foreseeing additional challenges in the trading process. The President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Emenike Nwokeoji, highlighted the potential discrepancies in duties paid for similar imports resulting from this approach.
Nwokeoji emphasized the impact on pricing structures and potential inflationary pressures, cautioning that these abnormal increases in sale prices would be driven more by uncertainties than market fundamentals.
It is worth noting that the CBN has adjusted the exchange rate for import duties on multiple occasions within a short timeframe. Starting from February 2, the rates have been revised upwards consistently, with the latest increment on February 14, setting it at N1,481.482 per USD.
Additionally, the CBN has introduced flexibility by lowering the exchange rate based on the Naira’s performance against the USD in the forex market. In a recent guideline issued in February, the apex bank recommended that the NCS should adhere to the foreign exchange closing rate at the time of Form M submission by importers for goods clearance and duty assessment.